Hey guys, I was out last night and I was walking to my 8, and I found a Red Z with Stern ST2's on it. I've only seen pictures of the wheels on an 8 in here, but seeing them in person and on this Z really pushed me towards getting these wheels. The Z had 20's on both front and rear with Nitto tires, I do not remember the width or profile, but I absolutly LOVE the look of the car so I'm trying to find Stern wheels, and I can't find them anywhere. Here are pictures of the car, it was taken with my phone and there was no light really so quality isn't that great.

 

those are the same rims i want but i want 19's, i believe the go for about $1000 w/out tires, some people claim it comes with tmps some say theirs didnt, im not sure, and i believe i was told they weigh more then stock rims too, but i still want em

 

www.need4speedmotors.com

 

Fanman, what offset do you have, because the guy was telling me that I can not run the Stern wheels on my 8 because of the offset, yet I see them on your car, so if you could help me out I'd appreciate it. What width in the front, what width in the rear etc etc and do you have anymore pictures of your car? Thanks!

 

+35 mm offsets all the way around are your best bets. Mine were +35mm on the back & it fits fine. On the front they had gotten me +38mm but it scraped the caliper just barely (1 mm), so +35 mm would be fine. If you talk to need4speed, talk to Edgar, he knows what he is doing. 8.5" up front & 9.5" in the back. Tires I would run are 245/35/19 & 275/30/19's in the back (Unless you are lowered more than 1", then you need to roll your fenders).

They do weigh more than stock rims, but it is way more for bling factor. TPMS was an issue. It deos fit on the rim, it is just not flush with the back of the rim (inside of the tire). It would stick up a bit. If you a re comfortable with that then go for it. I took them out & put a piece of black tape over the TPMS light.


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I saw some on ebay a few months ago, check there.

 

Be very careful if you buy them on EBay. I almost did, but luckily Edgar over at Need 4speed told me the offsets would be way off. They price matched the Ebay dealer. The one I saw was like +15mm offset. That is like 1" off from what we need. If you want these rims go for +35mm offsets.

 

How much of a difference did this make on the car? I know that you have A LOT more mods than me, but basically I have Tein S-Tech Springs (will that be fine?) and some performance parts, but do these wheels and going to 19's really affect the performance or handling of the car? I was also maybe looking at getting 20's since the pictures on the Z, those were 20's and they didn't look bad at all, I sorta like the look that the Z gives off with those 20's, but I just feel weird putting 20's on an 8.

 

I believe the S Techs have given you more than a 1" drop. At that point you will have to go with the 235/35/19 up front & 265/30/19 in the rears (the setup I have), unless you roll your fenders. You can always go with a single size setup (8.5") all the way around. If you go 20" & maybe 245/35 (or 30)/20 or something similar to it you will probably be OK. If I had to do it over again I probably would have went with an 18" as there are more tire choices, & the ride wouldn't be quite as harsh. That being said, the bling factor is way up there. I would tell you that going to 19" or 20" is purely for appearance. It does affect handling, & not in a good way. The RX8 is a very balanced car & the staggered setup has degraded the handling a bit (little more understeer). Ideally you should get the same rims & tires all the way around, if you are most concerned with handling. I have a turbo, so I do need more rear traction, but if you are NA I would highly recommend you stay with same size all the way around.

 

I've tried need4speedmotors....was told there is a national backorder on the stern st-2s for 19 x 9.5...anybody know anyplace else that has them? They have the 8.5 all around in stock.

 

Well, I have NA, but later down the line I will be adding a turbo later on. Just if I get these tires, I don't want it to take away too much from the fun factor of this car. I mean, don't get me wrong, I do not abuse or drive wreckless with this car at all, I totally baby it, but every now and then, I want to be able to punch it and take the twisties without having to worry too much and still be confident in the cars handling abilities.

I will most likely get 19's, what I want is a nice lip on the wheels like that Z has, and I want the look of riding on as little tire like that Z has. Should I go with 30 profile all around or what? I know offset I will be going +35 since that's what I need to get to not his the caliper, but what about width of tire and how much will tires run usually? Do you think I can keep this setup under $2000?

 

mine are ebay specials...the chrome is thin ,they need more TLC than other higher end chromies if your thinking of getting them. I will choose different next time, no chrome

 

Ebay special? I don't know, what are some good chrome or tuner wheels with a pretty good lip on it and won't cost me thousands and thousands of dollars lol.